Ninth Year of MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge Brings Crowd of More Than 40,000 Attendees to M1 Concourse

Back for its ninth year, MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge brought an adrenaline-filled weekend to M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan, on Saturday, August 10, 2024.

The 2024 Roadkill Nights main event drew a crowd of more than 40,000 drag-racing enthusiasts for the festival of all things automotive. Attractions inside M1 Concourse included adrenaline-fueled drag racing in Big Tire and Small Tire classes and the Direct Connection Grudge Race, the worldwide public debut of the all-new Dodge Charger Daytona, Dodge Drift Rides, first-ever Dodge Hornet Rally Rides, Roadkill stunts and talent appearances, exclusive merchandise, food trucks, music, entertainment and more.

Bringing the high-octane drag-racing action inside M1 Concourse, the new location offered a fan-friendly spectator experience, including first open, walkable pit areas to allow fans to interact with racers, and a viewing area that placed event attendees closer to the drag-racing action.

“In its ninth year, MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge continues to evolve and get better and better,” said Matt McAlear, Dodge brand CEO – Stellantis. “From the public debut of the all-new Dodge Charger Daytona and its Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust system, to the Direct Connection Grudge Race, to first-ever Dodge Hornet Rally Rides and drag-racing action inside M1 Concourse, it was another weekend for the history books for the Dodge Brotherhood of Muscle.”

“For nearly a decade, we’ve brought the ultimate car culture celebration to life at MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge, and this year we introduced some thrilling firsts,” says Eric Schwab, MotorTrend Group’s group SVP, head of revenue, operations and partnerships. “For the first time, drag racing took place inside the M1 Concourse, offering walkable pits and enhanced viewing areas that brought fans closer to the action than ever before. With these new experiences, along with the worldwide debut of the all-new Dodge Charger Daytona, we welcomed over 40,000 fans for an adrenaline-fueled weekend, proving once again that Roadkill Nights continues to set the bar for action-packed automotive excitement.”

Roadkill Nights also raised the bar with this year’s Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Race. Seven drivers dropped Direct Connection HurriCrate engines in their build projects in a quest for ultimate Dodge bragging rights. In the final round, Morgan Evans took the lead off the starting line and never looked back, defeating the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon driven by Garrett Reed.

“We worked so hard over the last two months, and I can’t believe we got here and we ended up winning. The truck worked incredibly, and I couldn’t have asked it to do better,” said Evans. “We built a 1987 Dodge D150 with the new HurriCrate twin-turbo inline six. I love that thing. I can’t get over how well it performed. It’s twerky, and it spools fast.”

Also new for 2024, Sick Powerfest kicked off the action as the official Roadkill Nights pre-party on Friday, August 9, also at M1 Concourse. Fans lined up for Dodge Drift Rides and Dodge Hornet Rally Rides, as well as for a chance to catch all the action in the World Burnout Championship with $25,000 up for grabs. With 10,000-plus attendees, the Sick Powerfest pre-party helped drive combined attendance to 50,000-plus for the entire two-day horsepower celebration.

At the Roadkill Nights main event on Saturday, the Big Tire (over 275mm width) and Small Tire (275mm width and under) classes saw competitors battle for bragging rights and cash prizes on the first-ever drag strip at M1 Concourse in Pontiac. Each class winner earned $5,000, with the fastest Dodge cars in both classes taking home another $5,000 each. In Big Tire, Jimmer Kline was a repeat winner, with Mikael Borggren also going back-to-back in the Small Tire class.

“It was a huge win for the event to come inside M1 Concourse with a stadium feel and completely unprepped surface that was honest, no-prep style drag racing,” said Brian Lohnes, Roadkill Nights announcer and NHRA broadcaster. “It required a much higher skill set to be successful. The winners were repeat winners for the most part, but also highly talented drag racers that were pushed to their limit to succeed.”

For more Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge post-event coverage, including exclusive podcasts featuring an interview with Dodge Brand CEO Matt McAlear and a roundtable discussion with Direct Connection Grudge Race competitors, stay tuned right here on DodgeGarage.com.

MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge: By The Numbers
40,000+ MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge attendance
50,000+ Combined attendance of Roadkill Nights and Sick Powerfest pre-party
100+ Drag race competitors
4,900+ Dodge Drift Rides and Dodge Hornet Rally Rides participants
300+ Cruise-in cars
1/8-mile Length of drag strip
1,000,000+ K-rails installed (in pounds)
19,000+ Burnout Box weight (in pounds)